Love Upon the Waves
by WogglebugLover-AvengingAtheist
Summary: Set in the present days. Jack and Rose meet on a beach, fall in love, and go through obstacles to be together.
1. Chapter 1

Up over the sand topped hill beyond the quiet beach there lay a quaint little town surrounding in palm trees and bathed in the sunset's glow. This town was much like any other town away from the beach. It had shops and employment facilities and houses in two varieties, big and small. It was for the most part a peaceful town where everyone could get to know everyone easily.

It was in a small building that was an art studio that Jack Dawson was at work, drawing his last portrait for the day. Jack was tall, lanky, and thin. He had slightly overlong hair the color of sunshine that hung over his forehead and lightly touched his eyelids. He wore simple clothing that consisted of a white tee-shirt and a pair of faded light blue jeans. His eyes were the same color as the ocean and they were now etched with concentration as he put the finishing touches on the portrait he was drawing of a little girl who sat across from him on a stool in her father's lap.

"There, it's done," he said after signing his name in the lower left corner.

The little girl got off of her father's lap and went over to him to see the portrait. Her father went with her and they both smiled when they saw it. The portrait was like a colorless photograph, only somehow even better as it seemed to capture the details which it seemed otherwise only words could describe, such as the sparkle in the little girl's eyes, and the gentle creases within her father's face and smile.

"It's really very good, Mr. Dawson," said the little girl's father. "I do believe you've got talent."

"Thank you, Mr. Cartmell," said Jack with a modest smile.

Then Mr. Cartmell gave Jack his payment, took the portrait, and left the studio. Then Jack picked up his art portfolio, turned the open sign on the door over so that now it said closed, and went outside and locked the door before starting on his way home.

Across town, in a small Italian styled diner, Fabrizio De Rossi was just now cleaning up the place and picking up dishes left by customers and collecting a few tips here and there. Fabrizio was a native Italian who had come to America when he was seven years old. Everyone Fabrizio knew liked and adored him. Maybe it was because of his charming accent and slightly imperfect English to go with it, or maybe it was his unfailing sense of humor, or maybe it was his rather unusually sweet nature and manners. Whatever the reason, he was not short on friends, that was for sure.

Just then, one of his friends walked into the diner. He looked up and smiled as he saw Brandy Brady. She was a Hispanic girl with long black flowing hair and chestnut colored eyes and large lips and a tan skin and a finely chiseled figure.

"Bouna sera, Signorina Brandy!" he said cheerfully. "How are things going with you and Tommy?"

"Going great, Fabri," said Brandy brightly. "In fact, I think he is starting to fall in love me at last!"

"I knew it!" Fabrizio said with a twinkle in his warm brown sparkly eyes. "I bet he will ask you to marry him.

"I don't know," said Brandy. "That don't seem logical for him to do."

"But amore is not logical," Fabrizio said pointedly.

"I just came by to invite you to my birthday party this Saturday," she continued. "It will be by the beach at the shoreline."

"Will there be surfing?" asked Fabrizio eagerly.

"Sure, if you'd like," said Brandy.

"Then I'd love to come!" he said.

"Great," said Brandy. "And mention it to Jack also as I'd like to see him there too."

"I will," said Fabrizio. "Ciao."

"Ciao," said Brandy as she left the diner.

Then Fabrizio put everything away, turned over the open sign on the door so that now it said closed in the front, and exited the diner, locking the door securely behind him, and stared on his way home.

When Fabrizio arrived to his home, which was a rather shabby looking white painted house sitting on top of a hillside nestled in-between several large trees, he opened the door and found Jack his roommate was there waiting for him.

"Bouna sera," greeted Fabrizio. "How was your day at the studio?"

"Pretty good," said Jack. "Had some new customers. How was your day at the diner?"

"Just magnifico," said Fabrizio. "Tips came in plenty today. Oh! And Brandy stopped by to invite me to her birthday party by the beach this Saturday. She wants you to come to."

"Well, I'd like to," said Jack. "But I don't have anyone to go with."

"What is wrong with that though?" asked Fabrizio.

"Well, if I had a date with me I could keep my distance more easily from those crazy friends of Brandy's," said Jack.

Fabrizio grinned. "You just always seem to attract all the attention to the women and you know it!"

"Well, that may be," said Jack. "But I don't have as much luck as you do, after all you've been dating Helga Dahl for six months steadily now."

"True," said Fabrizio. "But she won't be able to come to the party with me as it is on her day of working the night shift at the hospital she is a nurse at. So, I'll just have to watch out for the crazy women myself. But you will find the one for you someday," he added with certainty. "Helga and I met just by chance all those months ago, and I knew," here he sighed, "I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her she was the one for me. So never give up, Jack, you'll find her, just keep your eyes open."

Jack smiled. "Alright, Fabri, I will," he said. "And I'll go to Brandy's party with you."

"Alright!" exclaimed Fabrizio joyfully. "And you might even find the right one for you there. Brandy is always finding new friends after all."

"I don't want to count on it, though," said Jack.

Jack then went outside to watch the sunset as he often did whenever he could. He sat down upon a bench in front of their house and gazed upward as the yellowish white sun hung low over the horizon turning the sky overhead a deep pink and orange hue and casting a purplish glow upon the water in-between.

He looked down as the sun began to complete its descent and looked at the deep blue ocean lined with creamy white foam lapped its waves gently upon the pale brown sandy beach shoreline. He listened as birds called out to one another and the wind blew serenely whispering through the great palm fronds of the nearby trees.

He sighed contentedly as he leaned back and looked up as the first bright stars of the evening appeared in the sky overhead. One of the reasons he liked to come out to watch the sunset was to see if he could catch a glimpse of a shooting star. His parents had been dead for quite a while now and his father had told him that when you see a shooting star it means a soul going to Heaven. Of course he had heard other theories of what shooting stars were but this was the one he held close in his heart.

He looked out over the ocean again and saw how the ocean seemed to stretch on and on. He had lived by the ocean for his whole life and he always wondered what lay beyond the ocean. And as much as he loved his home he always wished he could cross the sea someday and head out for the horizon and explore the lands beyond here and meet new people. Though at the same time he knew it would probably be a very long time before he could do so as he was so poor right now.

His musings were interrupted suddenly when he saw something washing up on the ocean waves nearby. He stared at it and watched as it slowly came to rest upon the sandy shore as the waves continued to lap softly against it. His eyes went wide as he realized it wasn't a thing, it was a person!

He quickly got up from the bench and hurried down the hillside toward the figure lying at the bottom. He saw that it was young girl with long red hair and creamy white skin like the sea foam. She was wearing a long blue dress trimmed with green lace. As he approached her and knelt down beside her for a moment he assumed she was dead, but then when he gently turned her over and checked her vital signs he found to his immense relief she still had a heartbeat and a pulse. Though her breathing was quite shallow as no doubt her lungs were filled with sea water.

Fortunately, Jack was well trained in CPR and he proceeded to do so on her. Minutes afterward she started coughing and sputtering up the sea water and he patted her on her back to help her get it up. Then her eyes slowly opened to reveal the most beautiful mix of blue and green he had ever seen.

They stared at each other for a moment and then Jack asked, "Are you alright?"

She choked slightly and nodded weakly. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Jack Dawson," he replied. "What's your name?"

"Rose... Dewitt... Bukater," she replied awkwardly. "Did you just save me?"

"Yes, I suppose I did," replied Jack humbly. "You almost drowned. How did you get so far out in the sea anyway?"

"Well, I... I went swimming," said Rose with hesitation, "and I dived under the water and hit my head on something on the bottom. That's all I can remember before you saved me... and... thank you... by the way."

Jack smiled. "The pleasure is all mine. Now we'd better get you dried and warmed. My house is just up the hull. Come on."

So then Jack wrapped his strong arm around Rose and helped her to stand and then led her up the hill and into his house. Once they were inside they found Fabrizio in his robe and bunny slippers and when he saw Rose his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he exclaimed,

"Mamma Mia! Jack, what did you catch in the ocean?"

"Fabri, this is Rose. I just saved her from drowning and she is very cold, tired, and hungry. She'll have to stay with us for tonight at least," Jack said very seriously.

"Oh! Of course!" exclaimed Fabrizio as he hurried into the kitchen. "I'll go put on some tea and soup!"

Then Jack led Rose over to the couch where she sat down and rested while he went to get some towels to dry her off with. When he was back he gave her the towels and asked,

"Why were you swimming in the ocean so late in the day?"

"I... just... felt like it," said Rose as she tried to dry her hair.

"But wasn't it cold?" asked Jack.

"Yes... but I like the cold," said Rose with a bit of embarrassment.

Jack didn't press her any further, especially since it was just then that Fabrizio entered the room carrying a try of hot soup and steaming tea. He set them down on the table beside them and then handed them to Rose one at a time.

"Thank you both," said Rose gratefully. "You're both so kind."

"Well, my parents didn't raise me to be otherwise," Fabrizio replied.

"Mine either," said Jack. "Would you like to sleep in my bed tonight? I'll just sleep on the couch of course."

"No, I wouldn't want to take your bed from you, Mr. Dawson," said Rose.

"Please call me Jack, and I insist on it as you are our guest, an unannounced guest but still a guest," he said.

Rose thought about it for a moment and then said, "Very well. But I have nothing warm and dry to change into though."

Jack thought on this for a moment and then said, "Well, you can borrow my bathrobe for tonight then. And tomorrow we'll get your dress clean and dried."

"Thank you," said Rose.

Then Jack found his bathrobe and loaned it to Rose and led her into his bedroom to sleep. Then he went to the couch and fell asleep on it.

The next morning Jack when Jack awakened he walked into the living room in his pajamas and found Rose still wrapped in slumber. He smiled slightly as he thought of how serenely beautiful she looked as she slept, almost angelic. Though she was beautiful there still seemed something about her that was somehow missing, something so lost and scathed.

Before he had much time to ponder on this Rose began to stir on the couch. She stretched and brought one arm up above her head and her other arm up by her face as she yawned lightly. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at Jack.

"Good morning," she said a bit sleepily.

"Good morning," he replied. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yes, very well. Thank you," replied Rose as she got up from the couch.

"Now I suppose you'd like to use our shower," said Jack.

"Yes, if you don't mind," said Rose.

"Not at all," Jack assured her. "Come. It's this way."

He then led her across the hall to the bathroom door. When they reached it they found it was locked and from inside they could hear the water running and a high-pitched Italian voice singing out loud,

"_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,  
You make me happy when skies are gray  
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away!"_

"Fabri!" Jack knocked loudly upon the door.

"I'll be out in a momento, Jack!" Fabrizio called from behind the door.

A moment later they heard the water turning off and then the door opened and Fabrizio stepped out, wrapped from the waist downward in a thick blue towel and smiling brightly.

Jack then let Rose enter the bathroom. "Please don't mind Fabri," said Jack. "It's just he's always the first one to wake up in the morning."

"I don't mind him at all," Rose assured him. "And he is a good singer."

Jack then closed the door and a moment later he heard the water running again. Then he waited patiently behind the door until Rose was done. When the door opened and she came out, wrapped in a thick white towel that just covered her from the top of her breasts to the end of her waist,, he saw that her flaming red hair, while still slightly damp, was now washed and brushed well and was in thick wavy curls all around that reached to her shoulders. For a moment he though he had stopped breathing. She looked like a Roman princess with only a crown missing from her.

Rose caught his stare and said, "Well, it's your turn now."

Jack blinked as he snapped himself out of his trance. "Oh, yeah!"

He then went into the bathroom and showered himself and washed his hair. As he was in there he couldn't help but wonder why he had been starting at Rose the way he had and been thinking such thoughts. It seemed so unlike him.

After he had showered he left the bathroom and went into his own room and picked out some fresh clothes and changed into them. He then went into the kitchen where he found Rose was sitting at the table and watching Fabrizio as he was making apple pancakes.

Fabrizio sang along as he turned over the pancakes.

"_When the full moon hits your eye  
Like a big pizza pie  
That's amore!"_

His voice rose a note higher on the last line as he whirled around and flipped a large pancake into the air and caught it neatly onto a plate.

Then Jack sat down at the table beside Rose as Fabrizio served the three of them each plate with three large apple pancakes in them.

"I've never had pancakes with apples in them before," Rose said as she bit into one. "How did you learn to make them?"

"It is a family recipe from my Mama," Fabrizio explained with a modest smile.

"You also have a lovely singing voice," Rose added. "Does that run in your family also?"

Fabrizio just chuckled as he blushed and replied, "Thanks, that's what Helga says too."

"Who's Helga?" asked Rose.

"She is my girlfriend," said Fabrizio. "My angela di luce."

"Oh," said Rose. "So you're taken. And so am I," she added with a hint of melancholy.

"By who?" asked Jack.

"By Caledon Hockley," replied Rose. "Have you heard of him?"

"Yes, I think so," said Jack. "He is the son of the guy who owns a chain of steel mills around the United States including here and he comes to the beach to vacation from year to year."

"That's him," said Rose. "Me and him are engaged actually. Though we can't get married until next year of course since I'm only seventeen."

After a moment Rose changed the subject as if the current one made her uncomfortable. "So, you two live here together?"

"Yes, we do," said Jack. "Just because we both come from poor families and we want to help each other with expenses and suchlike."

"We are also the best of friends," added Fabrizio with a broad smile. "We've known each other since childhood."

"You two are so lucky for that," said Rose.

Then they finished their breakfast and Jack asked Rose, "So would you like for me to walk you home, or can you find your way back yourself?"

"I think I should probably walk back myself," she replied. "After all, mother wouldn't like to see me come with a stranger after a whole night."

"But you said you were seventeen didn't you?" asked Jack.

"Yes, I am," said Rose. "But mother doesn't seem to understand what that means."

"Well, can we see you again?" asked Jack.

"When did you have in mind?" asked Rose.

"Well..." Jack thought for a moment and then suddenly it came to him. "My friend Brandy is having a birthday party this weekend at the beach and she invited me and Fabri and I'd like you to come if it's not too much trouble"

"Sure, I think I'd love to go to the party with you," said Rose. "If I'm able to."

"So we'll see then?" asked Jack.

"Yes, goodbye. And thank you both so much for everything." said Rose just before she left through the back door.

Fabrizio smiled. "La Rosa is a bella madonna, no?" he asked Jack.

"Yes, she sure is," said Jack. He felt like he meant this more than he had ever meant anything before.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Saturday afternoon. Jack and Fabrizio were at the gymnasium working out as they did every Saturday afternoon. Joining them was their friend Tommy Ryan who was from Ireland and like Fabrizio he had come to America when he was very young. Today Tommy was using the Treadmill, Jack was using the Rowing Machine, and Fabrizio was using the Electric Bicycle.

"Slow down, Fab! You want to break that thing?" Tommy said to Fabrizio who seemed to be peddling very fast.

"I just getting worked up for Brandy's birthday bash tonight," Fabrizio replied.

"Oh yeah! Brandy's party is tonight," exclaimed Tommy. "I looking forward to it, too."

"Will you be doing your home dance at it?" Fabrizio asked with a wide grin.

"I don't know," said Tommy uneasily.

"It may really impress Brandy," Fabrizio said. "And aren't you gonna propose to her soon?"

"I... I'm not sure," admitted Tommy. "Marriage is a huge step after all, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a commitment yet."

"Love is big step in itself," Fabrizio told him. "And you've already taken all of the steps of it now in the past year and a half and proposing is just the step that comes after it. I'm sure Brandy is ready for you to do it now and I intend to do it with Helga as soon as the time is right."

"Well, about you, Jack? Do you think I should?" Tommy asked as he looked toward Jack.

Jack seemed to be lost in his own thoughts however for a moment. He blinked and then looked up at Tommy. "Uh... What were did you just ask, Tommy?" he asked absently.

"I asked if you think I should propose to Brandy soon," Tommy repeated.

"Oh... uh... sure... I guess so," Jack said rather distractedly.

"What is with you today?" asked Tommy. "You seem to be kind of not like yourself."

"I just have something else on my mind is all," replied Jack a bit embarrassed.

"And what is that?" asked Tommy curiously.

"Uh..." Jack started to speak when Fabrizio cut him off abruptly.

"He must be thinking about the bella Rosa," Fabrizio said and laughed good-naturedly. "You are, aren't you, amico?"

Jack just blushed and nodded.

"And who is this bella Rosa?" asked Tommy very curiously.

"Her name is Rose Dewitt Bukater and," Jack began and Fabrizio cut him off again.

"Jack rescued her from drowning in the ocean," Fabrizio explained. "And so we let her stay the night with us last Wednesday. And Jack invited her to come to Brandy's party with him. I think he has a thing for her," he added with lopsided smile in Jack's direction.

"Dewitt-Bukater?" Tommy said thoughtfully. "I don't think I've ever heard of that name before. It sounds kind of ritzy."

"She did mention she was engaged to Caledon Hockley," said Jack.

"Engaged to a Hockley?" Tommy repeated. "Hoo boy! She must be rolling then. I'm sorry Jack, but in that case I don't think she is gonna show up at the party tonight."

"But she will!" Fabrizio said with certainty. "She said she would."

"I don't mean she won't because she doesn't like you Jack," Tommy added, "but because she is engaged and her fiance most likely will not let her."

"Well, I bet she will come anyway though," Fabrizio said insistently.

"Really?" asked Tommy with a cunning grin. "Then how much do you want to bet on it?"

Fabrizio thought about this for a moment. He was hardly in a position to bet any money on anything. Then he had an idea. "I'd rather bet that if she shows up you do your home dance tonight at the party," he said.

Tommy thought a moment and then said, "Okay then. I accept. Especially because she won't show up tonight."

Jack sighed in exasperation. He hated when his two best friends argued and placed bets on things, especially if it was about something like this. He had a feeling Tommy could easily be right and Rose would not show up at the party tonight. Yet at the same time he was hoping Fabrizio was right and she would anyway, not just because he would like to see Tommy do his home dance tonight, but mostly because he wanted to show Rose a good time which he somehow felt she needed.

Right after their workout was over they went home and got ready for the party. First they showered, and then put on some appropriate clothes, then they took turns standing in front of the mirror combing their hair. Jack went after Fabrizio and when he was done he turned around and announced,

"Okay, Fabri, I'm ready. Ar e you?"

Just then Fabrizio stepped in wearing shiny turquoise blue shorts and a navy blue tee-shirt. He was carrying a long blue and yellow striped surf board under his left arm. "Ready," he said.

Jack smiled and said, "I might have known you'd want to surf tonight."

"Well, of course," said Fabrizio. "I love surfing, it makes me feel like a free bird soaring in the wind. Why don't you ever surf anymore? You used to be so good at it."

"I don't know," said Jack. "I guess I've just never felt like it anymore. Well, come on, we don't want to be late."

They then left their house and drove down to the beach. There they found most of the other guests had arrived already. Everyone was either talking to each other, or dancing to the music that played from a boombox, or swimming in the ocean, or having snacks from the snack table.

There was a long and wide table with a white tablecloth over it set with dozens and dozens of snacks including pretzels, cheese crunchies, potato chips, chocolate balls, rice crispies treats, and some healthier snacks like apple jerky and orange slices.

Jack and Fabrizio went up to the snack table and Jack selected a few cheese crunchies while Fabrizio, who always preferred the healthier things, selected a few orange slices. Soon Brandy came up to them.

"Hi Jack. Hi Fabri," she said. "Glad you could both make it. Would you like to dance?"

"I would," said Fabrizio. "though I think Jack would rather wait until la bella Rosa arrives."

"Fabri!" Jack said with exasperation. Why did his best friend always have to know just what was on his mind?

"Who is this bella Rosa?" asked Brandy curiously.

"Jack rescued her from drowning last Wednesday," Fabrizio explained. "And invited her to come here. I also made a bet with Tommy that if she shows up he'll have to do his home dance for you here."

"Really? Well then I hope she shows up, I really do!" said Brandy with much enthusiasm.

Then Fabrizio went with Brandy to have a dance with her while Jack stayed wear he was. He waited for Rose to show. He ate a few more snacks, and watched as Fabrizio danced with a few more girls, only dancing with the once each as his heart he knew was with Helga's.

"Aw, forget it, boyo! You'd as like have angels fly out o' yer arse as get next to the likes o' her!" Tommy said boisterously from behind him all of a sudden.

Jack turned around and sighed as he looked at Tommy. "You're probably right," he said dejectedly. "I don't know what I was thinking when I invited her here."

Tommy looked like he was about to reply when suddenly all activity around them came to a halt. Everyone had stopped and stood still and were looking straight ahead of them. Jack looked around to see what had caused such a disruption, and he spotted Fabrizio looking toward him with a grin of victory on his face. He pointed past Jack and mouthed the word "Look!"

Jack turned around and looked, and then he instantly understood everything. For there was Rose, the same Rose he had met the past Wednesday, walking toward him. The bright sun was casting a pure glow all around her frame making her look just like she had descended from above down to him. Her long red curls were hanging down her back and around her shoulders in a lovely frame. She was wearing a short sleeved and skirted pale yellow dress with matching yellow sandals. She was smiling as she walked right up to him. Jack glanced over at Tommy briefly and saw that his eyes were opened wide and his mouth was slightly agape. He knew why. It was just like the slipper fitting Cinderella.

"Hello Jack," Rose said as she approached him.

"Hello again," he said smiling warmly. "This is my friend Tommy Ryan," he added.

"Pleasure to meet you," said Rose.

"The same here," said Tommy managing a smile with his eyes still full of surprise.

"I'm glad you could make it," Jack continued. "For a moment there I thought you weren't gonna come."

"For a while neither did I," Rose admitted rather softly.

"Well, all that matters now is you're here," said Jack. "Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to," said Rose.

Jack then led Rose toward the center of the beach. Then, just as a new song began playing, he took her hands in his own and began dancing to the beat of it with her.

"I've never danced like this before," Rose said as she moved her arms and legs the way she saw everyone else doing.

"It's easy," said Jack. "Just go with the rhythm. Watch me!"

And she did. Jack watched her dance and thought she was quite a natural at it, even if she thought otherwise. He twirled her around as the music swelled and she twirled him with her. In spite of the loud music playing in the background and the many others dancing and laughing around them, all Jack could hear was the sound of Rose's laughter and only really see her.

After they had been dancing for an hour or so, they stopped and Jack led her over to the snack table. She selected a few chocolate balls. Fabrizio then walked up to them.

"Good to see you again, bella Rosa"!" he said. "I knew you would come! You make my friend so happy. I hope he make you happy, too."

"He does," Rose assured him. "He really does."

"Well," said Fabrizio. "I gonna go surf now as the tide will be in soon. Want to watch me?"

"We'd love to," said Rose.

Fabrizio then brought his surf board out from behind his back and ran towards the ocean. He got on his surf board in the water and pushed it out further into the rolling waves. When he was far out enough a huge wave came in and swept him up in its path and he stood erect on his surf board as it lifted him up high above everyone's heads and he spread out his arms and leaned his head back as he was swept forward onto the beach. The wave washed him up onto the beach again and he got off his surf board amidst everyone applauding him. He shook his wet hair out of his face and ran up to Jack and Rose again.

"That was awesome, Fabri!" Jack said.

"It's nothing you couldn't do yourself, you know," Fabrizio said. "Why don't you give it a try now."

"Me? I don't know, Fabri. I am out of practice after all," Jack said hesitantly.

"Well, I'd like to try it for myself," said Rose eagerly.

Fabrizio smiled at her. "Here, you can use my board," he said as he handed his surf board to her.

"Hey, now hold on just a minute here!" Jack said hastily. "Rose you can't just go out surfing all by yourself when you've never done it before. It could be dangerous. So I'll go with you."

Rose smiled. "Okay, Jack. If you're sure."

"Now hurry! The tide is almost in," Fabrizio said.

So the Jack and Rose went out to the ocean and Jack got on the surf board and Rose got on behind him and held fast to his shoulders. Then the tide came in and swept them up into the ocean and they rose higher and higher up above everyone on the beach. Rose let out a little cry of fright as she gripped Jack's shoulders but she kept smiling excitedly. Then they were swept forward and downward in a huge rush as the wave came crashing down upon the beach.

"Whoo-hoo! I'm the King of the World!" Jack exclaimed as he spread out his arms like an eagle.

When they hit the beach's surface again they got off the board amidst everyone applauding them. Fabrizio rushed up to them and exclaimed, "You two make a great team! You were awesome! I knew you could do it, Jack. I knew you still have it in you."

"I guess you were right, Fabri," said Jack. "And thanks for lending us your board."

"Any tine," said Fabrizio.

Then Brandy brought her birthday cake and sat it at the head of the snack table. And then as Tommy lit the twenty candles on top of it everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She then blew out the candles in one breath and everyone applauded.

"So what did you wish for?" asked Tommy a bit suspiciously.

"Hey, it's a secret! I'll never tell," said Brandy. "Oh, and aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" asked Tommy shrugging. And then he remembered. "Oh, that's right!"

He then stepped back a ways and with everyone watching him he bowed and then began to dance a very lively and funny Irish jig that was only from the town he had been born in. Everyone laughed and clapped and a few even tried to imitate it.

Shortly afterward, everyone began to get ready to leave.

"It was a wonderful party, Brandy," said Jack. "Thanks for inviting us."

"Thank you for coming," said Brandy. "You too, Rose," she added.

"So, Rose, would you like me to drive you to your home or can you make it back yourself?" asked Jack.

"I think I should probably go back myself," she assured him. "Thanks for inviting me. It was fun."

She then said goodbye to Fabrizio and then they went their separate ways.

After they had driven home as they entered their house again Fabrizio asked, "Jack, are you in love with la bella Rosa?"

"Of course not," said Jack. "We've only just met."

"I know, but I still fell in love with Helga when I first met her," Fabrizio said.

"So what makes you think I could be falling in love with Rose," asked Jack.

"I see the way you look at her, and they way she look at you, too," Fabrizio said. "Wouldn't you like to see her again?"

"Well, I guess I would," admitted Jack. "But I don't know how."

"I think it could be arranged," said Fabrizio slyly. "I am gonna take Helga to the Santa Monica pier on Tuesday, her night off, and you and bella Rosa are more than welcome to accompany us."

"But why would she want to come anyway?" asked Jack.

"Why don't you just ask her and see?" suggested Fabrizio.

"But when?" asked Jack.

"I could ask her for you if you like, when she comes to my diner tomorrow because I told where it is," Fabrizio said.

"Okay," said Jack. "If you insist."

I do," said Fabrizio.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack was at his small art studio and sitting in his chair sharpening his charcoal pencils when the door opened and in stepped a very elderly looking couple walking hand in hand.

"Hello, young man," said the old man in a warm and friendly voice. "Me and my wife here would like to have a portrait done of the two of us."

"Sure," said Jack smiling.

The elderly couple then sat down in the chair across from Jack and wrapped their arms around each other. Jack began to draw them. He looked up every now and then from his sketchpad to make sure he was getting all the details down right. Like the gentle creases in their faces and the crinkles at the corners of their eyes, and their warm and loving smiles as they looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes.

As Jack watched and drew them he couldn't help but think about how they looked as if they had been together forever, and how deeply in love they seemed with each other. He then got a nagging feeling in him to ask them about these things.

"Have you two been together for very long?" he asked.

"Yes, indeed," replied the old man. "A good forty-five years at least."

Jack smiled. "Have you always been happy together?" he asked.

"Yes, very much so," replied the old woman. "There is no one I'd rather spend my days with than Charles."

"And no one I'd rather spend my days with than Matilda," added the old man. "I knew this from the moment I first laid my eyes on her from the time that I was fifteen-years-old."

Jack smiled a wistful kind of smile. "It must really be something to have the love of your life at your side, isn't it?" he said.

"It sure is," said Charles. "What about you?" he asked Jack, "Are you in love with someone?"

Jack paused momentarily in his drawing as he thought about this for a moment. Was he in love with Rose? "Um... maybe I am," he replied hesitantly.

"Maybe?" said Charles. "If you're in love with someone you must know it for sure."

"Well," said Jack a bit uneasily. "That is I think I am in love, but it's kind of complicated between us."

"Complicated? How so?" asked Charles sounding interested.

"Well," said Jack, "It's just that she is very well to do and I'm just... not. I have not much to offer her so I'm not sure if I should be in love with her."

Charles expression took on a serious light now. "Let me tell you something, young fellow, about me and Matilda. When we met I was very poor, because it was the time of the Great Depression, and she was better off because her parents had jobs they could keep. I soon ended up having to leave her along with my family so that we could seek work in better places. Then it was five years later when the Depression came to an end and we could go back. I thought I would get to see my love again but it turned her family had moved away now too. I was devastated. Then the Second World War broke out a year later and I was forced to join into it. Then when I went overseas to Europe and fought I was injured in battle and taken into hospital there, and a nurse attended to me. The nurse turned out to be Matilda as she was there working for the Red Cross. Then as soon as the War was over and done with we came home and got married in front of our families, and they had no objections to it at all."

Jack had listened intently to the old man's story. Now he began thinking about his own life and Rose. He remembered how his deceased parents had always told him when they were alive to live each day as if there no other and make each day count. He remembered the night he had rescued Rose from drowning in the ocean also. How she had seemed so lost and all alone, and then how alive and energetic she had seemed at Brandy's birthday party.

"You think about that, son," said Charles solemnly. "If she is the love of your life and your love is true then it must be meant to be, one way or another."

"I will. Thanks," said Jack. He then put the finishing touches onto the portrait and signed his name. He got up and handed the drawing to the old couple.

"Well, I must say this is some of the finest work of art I have seen in all my born days," said Charles. "Thank you, young man."

"It was my pleasure," replied Jack humbly.

Then as Charles and Matilda left the art studio, Jack began thinking about Rose once again. He began to think that Fabrizio's idea about taking her with them and Helga to the Santa Monica pier this evening was something they should do.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio was standing behind the bar of his diner and cleaning off the surface with a cloth when he heard the door open. He looked up and saw Rose walk in.

He smiled warmly he greeting, "Bouna sera, bella Rosa," he said politely. "Can I get anything for you around here?"

Rose looked around for a moment and then said, "Yes, I would like one of those cinnamon rolls up there, please?"

So Fabrizio turned around and opened the glass case which the cinnamon rolls were kept in and got one and then handed it to Rose. "Here, and it's on me," he said cheerfully.

"Thank you," said Rose. She then bit into the soft, chewy, fluffy, and slightly moist roll. "Mmm..." she murmured as she looked up smiling. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted. Where did you get these?"

"From my Mama," replied Fabrizio smiling. "They're another one of her family recipes."

Rose took another bite of the cinnamon roll and then said, "You are so lucky to have such a mother. She must be a very nice woman."

Fabrizio nodded. "Well, isn't yours nice, too?" he asked.

Rose swallowed another bite before she answered slowly. "Well, I can't really say for sure. I mean she did teach me all that I know about being a proper girl and she has always provided for me. But she has just never really been there for me. I also don't think she would approve of me being here right now in a place like this because it just isn't her kind of place to be in."

"But you like this place, no?" asked Fabrizio.

"Yes, of course I do," Rose assured him.

"Well, isn't that all that matters?" he asked. "That you like being where you are?"

"I suppose so," replied Rose."But I don't think my mother would be able to understand that or why I do."

"Why not?" asked Fabrizio curiously.

"Well, because she has always been brought up in fancy and expensive surroundings and she thinks those are the only things worth being around and she wants and expects me to feel the same way," Rose explained. "But I don't. I never really did."

"Well, it seems to me that if you disagree with her you ought to tell her so," Fabrizio said decidedly.

"I'm afraid you don't know my mother," said Rose. "She would never be reasonable about it."

"No, I don't know her," Fabrizio admitted. "But I do know that you can't go through your whole life living it not the way you want to. That way your spirit will die before your body does."

Rose looked at him in surprise as though she had never thought about it like that before. "Where did you get that from?" she asked.

"From my friend, Jack Dawson," Fabrizio replied. "He always knows how to make each day count."

"You are also very lucky to have Jack for a friend," said Rose.

"Si, and so are you," replied Fabrizio. "After all, he is your friend too, no?"

"Well, yes, I suppose he is," said Rose. "I wish I could see him again."

Fabrizio smiled broadly. "You can, you know. He usually stops by here during lunchtime, which should be just about... now."

It was just then that the door opened and in walked Jack. Rose turned around and looked at him and smiled. He looked much surprised to see her here at first but he soon smiled back.

"Hello Jack," said Rose.

"Hello Rose," said Jack. "I admit I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"Well, I just stopped in for a bite to eat," she said. "Your friend here has been very kind to me."

"Well, I'm glad you're here, Rose," Jack continued, "because I was wanting to ask you something."

"What?" asked Rose.

"Would you like to go with me and Fabri and his girlfriend Helga to the Santa Monica pier this evening?" Jack asked.

"Well, what will we do there?" asked Rose curiously.

"We'll do a lot of fun stuff," replied Jack. "We'll drink cheap beer, we'll ride on the roller-coaster until we throw up. Then we'll ride horses on the beach, right in the surf. Then maybe we'll go to the carnival down there."

Rose had noticed Fabrizio was nodding and smiling as Jack was speaking. She thought about it for a moment and then said, "Why, yes. I think I'd love to do all those things with you and your friends."

Jack smiled. "I thought you would," he said.

"Magnifico," Fabrizio said. "You meet us at our house at around five o'clock, si?"

Rose nodded, and then she and Jack had lunch together at the diner.

So then Rose came to Jack and Fabrizio's house at five o'clock. There she met with Fabrizio's girlfriend, Helga Dahl.

"It's very nice to meet you, Rose," Helga said.

"The same to you, Helga," Rose replied smiling. "So how long have you and Fabri been going out?"

"For six months and still counting," replied Helga as she draped her arm around Fabrizio's shoulders and rubbed him against her affectionately.

"You're really lucky, you know that?" said Rose.

"Yes, I know," said Helga.

"Well, now let's get this show on the road, shall we?" said Jack.

"Oh yes!" said Rose eagerly. "We shall."

So then they all gathered into the car and drove down to the Santa Monica pier. Once they were there they bought four tickets for a ride on the roller-coaster. They then stood in line waiting to get on the next ride. Then when they got on, Helga and Fabrizio sat together behind Jack and Rose sitting together.

Jack fastened down the holding bar in front of them and said to Rose, "Hold on tight now. It's gonna be a wild ride."

"What?" Rose asked.

And then suddenly the roller-coaster came to life and they zoomed forward and up a long high point, screaming in terror and excitement all the way. Then they zoomed downward and then rushed upward all over again. They went spiraling and zigzagging all over and under. Their stomachs began to do flip-flops and their heads began spinning.

"Have you ever rode on of these before?" Jack loudly asked Rose over the roar of the excitement around them.

"Never!" replied Rose as she felt her hair blowing back and standing on end.

Then almost before they realized the ride had stopped, it stopped. They all got out, all dizzy with excitement and hoarse from screaming.

"Well, what did you think, Rose?" Jack asked.

"That was the most exciting fun I'd ever had!" she exclaimed. "I want to go on it again!"

"Okay!" said Jack. "Me too!"

They then all went on the roller-coaster over and over and over again. Then when they were all quite sure they couldn't handle one more ride on it they stopped. Then they went and got themselves each a cheap beer and sat down to drink them for a few minutes and rest.

"So now do you want to go ride the horses?" asked Jack.

"Absolutely," said Rose and Fabrizio and Helga nodded agreement.

"Great," said Jack. "Now, you'll have to do it like a real cowboy. None of that side-saddle stuff," he said to Rose.

"You mean one leg on each side?" asked Rose a bit uneasily. "Can you show me?"

"Sure, if you'd like," replied Jack.

"I can teach you too, Rose," said Helga. "Trust me, it's fun and easy to do."

"Okay," said Rose. "Teach me to ride like a man."

So then they went over to the stables where the horses were kept. Jack went up to the man in charge and said, "Excuse us, sir. We'd like to rent a couple of horses, please?"

"Sure," said the man. "One for each of you?"

"Just two, please," replied Jack.

"Okay," said the man. He then opened up two stable doors and led two horses out of them. One horse had a shiny dark brown coat the color of gingerbread. The other horse had a lighter brownish coat.

"This is Ginger and Cinnamon," said the man. "Be sure to bring them back by sundown."

"Don't worry, we will," assured Jack.

Then they got onto the horses. Fabrizio and Helga rode on Cinnamon, and Jack and Rose rode on Ginger.

As Rose was getting on Jack was instructing her how to swing one leg at a time over each side and place each foot into the foot holder below them. She was slightly awkward at first but she smiled as she followed Jack with this and then held onto his shoulders as he gave the horse a light kick in the side and they began to ride along down toward the beach.

They reached the part of the beach where the sand met with the ocean and they strode contentedly along it as the waves lapped gently up and down along the edges. Jack looked over at Fabrizio and Helga and smiled. He then glanced over his shoulder at Rose and asked,

"So are you liking this?"

"Yes, I am," she replied.

Jack grinned. Then he got an idea. "Hey, watch this," he said to her and their friends beside them. He then leaned back and pulled hard on the horse's reigns so that it reared up on its hind legs with its front legs high into the air. "Ye-haw!" Jack exclaimed in his best imitation of a Western accent.

"Oh my!" Rose gasped from the surprise of it. "Jack, you really are something."

They rode on further down the beach for a while and then as the sun slowly began to sank below the horizon they turned back around and went back toward the stables.

Then afterward they went to the nearby carnival where they rode on rides like the carousel, the Ferris wheel, the bumper cars, and they ate treats like cotton candy, and popcorn, and cream puffs. They also saw a mime show where two thin guys wearing white and black makeup and costumes did funny things with their hands in front of them and also a few magic tricks and gave them flowers.

It was then much later at the end of the day when they drove back to Jack and Fabrizio's house. Jack got out of the car while Fabrizio drove Helga home and Rose once again insisted that she go home by herself.

"Thank you, Jack, for giving me the time of my life this evening," Rose said to him just before she left. She then gave him a very brief and gentle kiss on his left cheek. "Good night."

Jack watched her go and smiled for a few moments as he enjoyed the feeling of her kiss upon his cheek. Then he slowly stopped smiling as he came to the realization that Rose was now heading back to some place where she didn't want to be and he wished he could take her away from it.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Fabrizio was standing behind the bar in his diner and was cleaning off and polishing the glasses with his washcloth and then rearranging the glasses on the shelves behind him. Just then the door opened and in stepped Jack. Today he didn't look like his usual cheerful self.

Fabrizio smiled in greeting and said, "Bouna sera, mio amico! What can I get for you today?"

Jack smiled weakly as he took his seat in front of Fabrizio on a chair next to the bar and said, "Just some ginger ale right now, please."

And so Fabrizio took one of the sparkling clean glasses and then took a pitcher full of freshly made ginger ale and poured some into the glass until it was nearly full. Then he slid it carefully down the table and Jack caught it neatly. Then as Fabrizio watched him drink from his glass he couldn't help but notice how distracted his friend was seeming to be today.

"Jack, what is wrong?" asked Fabrizio with concern.

"What makes you think anything is wrong, Fabri?" Jack asked rather dryly as he set his glass down.

"You just seem to be different all of a sudden," Fabrizio stated obviously. "You no talk about how your day has been so far and you drink from glass very slow."

"So you've noticed," said Jack. "Well, I just have got a lot on my mind right now, Fabri, that's all."

Fabrizio gave him a knowing smile. "It wouldn't happen to do with la bella Rosa, would it?" he asked rather teasingly.

_How did he get to be so intuitive?_ Jack wondered to himself about his friend. "How did you guess?" he asked.

"I just knew it," Fabrizio explained, "because of the look you have in your eyes, it was the same look you had in them the other night when you and her double dated with me and Helga."

"Nothing ever escapes your notice, does it, Fabri?" Jack said also rather teasingly. Then he sighed as he said, "Well, yeah, I haven't been able to get Rose off of my mind since last night."

"And why is that?" asked Fabrizio. "Is it because you've fallen in love with her?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"Yeah," said Jack, knowing he could trust Fabrizio with such information and since no one else was around to hear them. "That, and also because I'm concerned about her, worried even."

"And why is that?"asked Fabrizio gently.

"Well," said Jack as he tried to find the right words to describe it, "it's just that she seems to be so all alone in the world. I know she's seemed to be very happy whenever she's with us, but last night after all the fun ended I couldn't help but noticed this utterly lost look in her eyes, like she feels she is not where she wants to be right now."

Fabrizio nodded solemnly. "Si, and I have noticed it myself, too," he said. "Yesterday afternoon, before you come in, she come in and tell me about her Mama. She say her Mama is not showing the her love or caring that she wants and that she want her to live surrounded by fancy things but she don't want to be herself."

"Yeah, I did get the impression from her as soon as I met her that she wasn't like the more typical kind of rich people we've heard about," Jack said flatly. "And speaking of when I first met her, you remember that I saved her from drowning in the ocean? She said she had gone swimming. At the time I believed her I guess. But right now I'm not so sure that was true."

"What else could she have been doing out in the ocean at night?" inquired Fabrizio. Then his eyes started to grow wide with realization. "You don't mean you think she was so unhappy that was trying to.." he trailed off and Jack just nodded. Fabrizio gasped softly. "Well, that makes you saving her all the more important now, no?"

Jack nodded again. "Yeah, Fabri. And that is just the problem, I'm not sure if I can save her as much as I want to. I mean, we're practically from two completely different worlds that have these walls around them with doors that are usually closed."

Fabrizio nodded and said, "That may be true, but sometimes those doors can be opened, and you and Rose have opened up the door to each other, no? And also sometimes the walls around us can be broken down or climbed over, si? If you could open Rose's door you could get through to her, as you have been doing for the past two weeks, and if you can just break down the walls around her you will have saved her, and," he added with a smile, "if you need help breaking down those walls I will help you. My name does mean 'skillful hands', no?"

Jack had been listening thoughtfully as Fabrizio had been speaking to him and it was all making sense to him, and now he smiled and said, "Thanks, Fabri, you're the best." Then he asked, "So how should I begin?"

"Well," said Fabrizio. "You have already started with the the beach party, and then the Santa Monica date, and now I think the next step would be to talk to her some more and get to know her better. Also it would be nice if you would sketch a nice portrait of her in your art studio, no? And also me and Helga plan on seeing _The Notebook_ tonight and you two would be more than welcome to come with us."

"Gee, thanks a lot, Fabri," said Jack very sincerely. "Those sound like just the things to do."

It was just then that the door opened once again and in stepped Rose. Jack and Fabrizio both turned towards and smiled, but then their smiles dropped as they noticed the pained expression on her face as well as the long red mark on her face that ran from the corner of her left eye to across her cheek.

"Rose, what happened to you?" asked Jack very concerned as he promptly got out of the chair and came over to her. "How did you get this?" He asked as he tenderly put a hand to the red mark on her pretty face.

"I... just bumped into a door last night," Rose said hesitantly. "It's nothing though, really. I'll be fine."

"It looks to me like we should at least put something on this though," Jack countered as he observed the swelling of the red mark across her cheek.

"Si, and I know just the thing to do for it," Fabrizio added.

He then went around the bar he was standing behind and into the back room where there was a freezer kept there. He returned a few moments later carrying an ice pack which he went with to Rose and pressed gently against the red mark on her face as she took hold of it.

"Now you just keep that on there for at least an hour or two," Fabrizio told her, sounding almost like a concerned parent treating his child's hurt.

"Thank you," Rose said softly.

Fabrizio then returned to his usual cheerfully smiling self as he asked, "So it is just about lunchtime, no? So what can I get for you two today, eh?"

"I'd like some of that Gucci of yours, please?" said Jack.

"I think I'd just like a few grilled cheese sandwiches, please?" said Rose.

So then Fabrizio got them each what they had ordered. Then after they had both eaten and the red mark Rose had on her face had stopped swelling and most of the redness had faded out due to the ice pack, Jack announced it was time for him to go back to his art studio.

"I should be heading back to the studio now," he said as he got up from his place at the bar. "I think I'll go for a walk around the beach on the way back. It's just so beautiful at this time of the year."

"Jack, if it's not too much trouble, I think I'd like to go for a walk with you," said Rose. "I'd also like to go to see your art studio as I'm interested in all kinds of fine art."

Jack smiled broadly though he tried not to let his feeling of victory show too much as he said, "Sure, Rose. I'd love to have you come with me and see the studio. Bye, Fabri, and thanks for the lunch as always."

Fabrizio then waved goodbye to Jack and Rose as they left the diner and whispered, "Good luck," to Jack.

Then when they were outside and heading toward the beach, Rose started their conversation along the way as she asked, "So, Jack, tell me a bit more about yourself? Do you do artwork for a living or something?"

Jack smiled with modesty as he replied, "Well, yes, kind of. You see, I've been drawing things, mostly people, ever since I was two years old, according to my parents anyway. And then I was always the best artist in school. I was planning on going to art school after I graduated, but then all of that changed suddenly after both my parents died when our house in Wisconsin was burned down around the time that I was fifteen."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," said Rose with deep sympathy, as though she could identify with it in a way. "What happened after that?"

"Well, I had no brothers or sisters, or close kin in that part of the country. And so I lit on out of there and I haven't been back since. I traveled around the States for a while like a tumbleweed blowing in the wind and then I came here and settled down with my friend Fabrizio where you first met us. I saved up and opened this little art studio a little ways from here. It's not much really. But I do what I love to do at it, and it also pays the rent... sometimes."

Rose had been listening with a wistful and rather dreamy expression. Now she said, "You know my dream has just always been to run away and become an artist. Living in a garret. Alone but free!

Jack couldn't help but chuckle at this as he replied, "You wouldn't last two days. There's no hot water, and almost never any caviar."

"I happen to hate caviar!" Rose said almost snapping. "And I am tired of having people always telling me what dreams I should and shouldn't have!"

"Oh," said Jack, rather abashed. "I'm sorry."

Rose went on then in frustration,"Everybody expects me to be this delicate little flower which I'm not! I'm sturdy and strong as a horse! I want to do something and not just sit around and be decorative." She held her hands out in front of her. "You see these hands? They were made for work!" She sighed and then continued, " There's something in me, Jack. Like a diamond. I can feel it. I don't know what it is. Whether I should be an artist, or a sculptor, or a... I don't know... a dancer!" Here she twirled herself around in a circle on the sand. "Or a moving picture actress!"

She spotted a man on the beach who appeared to be a visiting tourist as he had a video camera with him and he was aiming it at recording the dancers wearing long grass skirts in front of him. Rose rushed up to them and began to dance along with them.

Jack just stood and watched as she moved about with such grace and style as he had never seen before. She really was something. He felt she could be anything she wanted to be if she would only allow herself to be free from the bondage of her society.

Then after a few minutes of recording Rose with the dancers, the man with the video camera smiled and walked away from them to film something else. Rose then rejoined Jack and they continued on their walk down the sandy beach, listening as the soft wind blew through the palm fronds, and the seagulls called to each other overhead.

"That was so awesome, Rose," said Jack. "I mean it, you were really great. You should definitely think about becoming a dancer or a movie star, or maybe both if you like."

Rose smiled at him rather sadly. "I know what you must have thought of me at first," she said. "Poor little rich girl, what does she know about misery?"

"No," Jack replied with honesty. "That's not what I was thinking of you at first. What I was thinking was what could have happened to this girl to make her think she had no way out?"

Rose looked at him in surprise momentarily and then she replied, "Well, I... It was everything. It was my whole world and all the people in it. And the inertia of my life, plunging ahead and me powerless to stop it." So saying she held out her right hand to him and showed him the heavy green rock of a ring on her third finger.

Jack felt much discouraged at the sight of it as it showed she was engaged to a man of wealth and of power. Though he didn't show this to her and instead made a joke of it.

"God! Look at that thing! It's a wonder you didn't sink to the bottom of the ocean."

Rose continued on about her personal misery. "Five-hundred invitations have gone out. All of Philadelphia society will be there. And all the while I feel I'm standing in the middle of a crowded room screaming at the top of my lungs and no one even looks up!"

Jack felt very sorry for her, and he also felt very curious about something, too. "Do you love him?" he asked, feeling he just had to know."

Rose looked at him briefly in shock that he should ask such a question and then she replied simply, "No, I don't. Mother just arranged the engagement for appearances sake and because all our money is mostly gone now because of my father's death and the legacy of bad debts he left behind."

Oh, I'm sorry," said Jack, feeling just a tad bit ashamed for asking such a question. "Do you miss him?"

Rose nodded, "Yes, I do. Every day."

Jack could see the whole picture now. Rose felt like she was in an invisible prison cell and she wanted to break free but she didn't know how. He wished he knew how to set her free. He then realized that only she really had the power to do free herself from her gilded cage. She was like a butterfly trapped inside of a glass jar. She was meant to be free and to fly, not to be locked up and just admired until she just withered away and died.

His thoughts were interrupted when Rose sighed and said reflectively, "They're such small people, my crowd. They think they're giants on the Earth. But they're really like this," she pinched two fingers close together to indicate a speck of dust, "they live inside this tiny champagne bubble and one day the bubble is going to burst."

"There's been a mistake," Jack said reflectively. "You got delivered to the wrong address."

"I did, didn't I?" Rose said with a sad laugh.

It was just then that they arrived at Jack's art studio. "Well, here we are," Jack said as he led her inside of the building.

Once they were inside, Rose looked around at the various charcoal drawings of people that decorated the walls around them.

"These are rather food," Rose muttered. "They're very good, actually! This is fine, fine work, Jack. Did you really draw all of these all yourself?"

Jack just nodded with modesty. Then an idea came into his head. He turned to Rose and asked, "Say, would you like for me to draw you a portrait right here now?"

Rose looked at him in surprise for a moment and then she replied, "Why, yes, I think I'd like that very much, Jack."

Jack smiled much pleased. "Have a seat right here," he said indicating a chair across from his own.

So Rose sat down in the chair and Jack sat down in his own across from her, got out his sketchpad and charcoal stub and began to trace Rose's facial outline on the paper. He felt like he was putting more care and attention into this portrait than he had ever put into any other one he had ever drawn before. Carefully he sketched her eyes, her lips, her cheeks, her long bouncy curls hanging down her shoulders.

Rose remained still for as long as she had to, and then Jack said, "There, all done." He signed his name in the corner and then turned it around and showed it to Rose. "Well, would do you think?" he asked rather nervously.

Rose looked at the portrait and her face lit up with a pleasantly surprised smile of delight. "Oh my! Why, Jack, I never imagined I could look so... so gorgeous... I mean, instead of looking just like a porcelain doll which I don't want to look like. Thank you," she said.

Jack smiled and handed her the portrait which she folded neatly and slipped inside her purse. He then remembered what else he was wanting to ask her.

"Um... Rose... Fabrizio and Helga are going to the movies this evening to see The Notebook. We wanted to know if you would like to come with us, you know like last night?"

Rose smiled and replied, "Sure, I think I'd love to come with the three of you to another outing."


	5. Chapter 5

It was early in the next morning, shortly after the crack of dawn in fact, when Jack was abruptly awakened by a loud knocking on his door. He got up groggily and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Then he went, still in his pajamas, to answer the door. He wondered who could possibly be calling on him at this hour of the day, and whoever it was was still knocking repeatedly on the front door.

When he unlocked the door and opened it was quite shocked and surprised to find Rose standing behind it. She was fully dressed and her red curls were disheveled and she looked out of breath as though she had run here very fast and her hands he noticed were shaking nervously.

"Rose!" Jack exclaimed. "What are you doing here at this hour? Is something wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I... I just stopped by to tell you goodbye," said Rose quickly.

"What do you mean goodbye?" asked Jack in confusion.

Rose took in a deep breath of the cool morning air like she was preparing to give him a long explanation. "I'm so sorry, Jack," she began. "I just have to tell you the truth. You see, I don't actually live around here. This is just a vacation home for me and my family to come to every Summer. This year we came with Cal, who I'm engaged to, remember? Well, he didn't know about how I was off seeing you and going places with you these past couple of weeks. And the night I got back after we were at Santa Monica he slapped me hard for not coming to him when he thought I would."

Jack now looked even more shocked than before. "So you mean that was how you got that redness on your face the other day?"

Rose nodded with shame. "Yes. I'm sorry I lied to you about that. And then just last night, Cal was demanding to know where I was last night while we were at the movies and then he forced the truth out of me and then he found the drawing you did of me and then he went just crazy with rage. He might have killed me if Mother hadn't heard him shouting at me so loudly and knocking things over. Then he told her everything I told him and she was also furious with me. Then they both decided on going back home to Philadelphia first thing this morning on our private plane. So I just wanted to tell you goodbye and to thank you for all you've shown me around here. I'll never forget it."

Jack only about half listened to what Rose was saying. She was really telling him goodbye and leaving him? She was going away with her mother and her fiance who she would soon marry and then what could happen to her except the death of her soul, the fiery soul that he loved so much about her.

He spoke to her now in desperation. "Rose, you can't leave. You just can't!"

"Jack, I'm very sorry. But I have no choice, don't you see that?" Rose said helplessly.

"Rose, listen to me," Jack said as he struggled to get out the words he so desperately wanted her to hear from him. "You are the most amazingly, astounding, wonderful girl, woman, that I've ever known."

Rose looked she was about to burst into tears now. "Jack, I have to get going," she said as she started to turn away. But he quickly reached out and grabbed her by her arm, not forcefully but just enough so that she turned around and faced him again.

"No, wait!" he said urgently. 'Please listen to me. I'm not an idiot and I know how the world works. I've got just ten bucks in my pocket. I have nothing to offer you and I know that, I understand. But I'm too involved now. I just can't let you go without knowing you'll be alright. That's all that I want."

"Well, I'm fine," Rose said in an unconvincing voice. "I'll be fine. Really."

Jack wasn't buying this for a moment. "Really? I don't think so. They, your Mother and your fiance Cal, they've got you trapped, Rose. And you're gonna die if you don't break free. Maybe not right away because you're strong. But sooner or later that fire that I love about you, Rose, that fire is gonna burn out."

Rose's lower lip trembled for a moment and she swallowed hard. Jack could tell he had touched her deeply. "It's not up to you to save me, Jack," she said, her voice quivering with emotion.

"You're right," Jack said as he laid a gentle hand against her cheek. "Only you can do that."

Rose stared into his eyes for a moment before she slowly took his hand off of her cheek. "I have to leave," she said with her voice full of regret. "Goodbye."

And with that she turned around and ran away from him as fast as she could. Jack stood frozen stiff as he watched her go. He had half a mind to go and run after her, and yet he felt he couldn't at the same time. He felt she had made her decision and she had left him alone with it.

He watched her until she was out of sight. Then he slowly closed the door. He then leaned back against the door and closed his eyes tightly as he tried to force back the tears that were threatening to fall from them. He breathed in deeply in short shaky gasps. He felt his heart was truly broken as it had never been before. He then slowly made his way over to the sofa and slumped down onto it, putting his head in his hands and rocking himself back and forth.

Why was life so cruel to him all of a sudden? He wondered. Though it wasn't really himself he was heartbroken over, it was really for Rose. For knowing she was allowing herself to be trapped in and locked away into a world where she just didn't belong and where she didn't even want to be. She would never get to fulfill the dreams she had told him about or be the person she really wanted to be, that she was meant to be and that he saw her as. She die, virtually all alone and wither like a young rose in the cold that was too young to wither.

"Jack? What is wrong, _amico_? Why you so upset?" Fabrizio asked when he entered into the living room and saw Jack in the state he was in.

Jack looked up dismally at Fabrizio and into his warm and concerned gentle eyes. He then spilled out the contents of his broken heart to him.

"It's Rose," he began with his tears now falling freely. "She left. She's gone. She went back with her Mother and Cal," he made Cal's name sound like a swear word, "She's gonna marry that filthy rich bastard who beats her for doing what she wants to do and not what he wants her to do. I'll never see her again, and there is nothing I can do about it, either! God damn it!" He let out a wretched sob.

Fabrizio had listened to Jack with the same kind of shock that he had felt when he had listened to Rose. Then after a moment, a look of firm determination set itself in his eyes and he said, "Come with me, amico. We've got some packing to do." And so saying he turned around and hurried back into his bedroom.

Jack got up from his position on the sofa and began to follow Fabrizio into the bedroom. He was very confused as to what his friend had meant about packing. He then watched as Fabrizio went briskly to the closet and took out two large suitcases. He then went into their dresser drawers and began pulling out socks and underwear and stuffing them into his suitcase. Jack watched him in confusion.

Fabrizio then looked up at Jack with a look of impatience on his face. "Well, what you just standing there for? Come on and get packing! We got a plane to _caccitore_, no?"

Jack was still as confused as ever. "What plane?" he asked Fabrizio. "Where are we going?"

"To Philadelphia, of course. To rescue_ la bella Rosa, si_?" Fabrizio replied as he quickly pulled two clean shirts off of hangers in the closet and stashed them into the suitcase.

"What? But Fabri, we can't just do that!" Jack exclaimed. "That's crazy."

"If you ask me, it is even more crazy of you just to let _la bella Rosa_ go like that! _Pazzo_!" Fabrizio said with annoyance and then he tossed Jack his own suitcase.

"But Fabri," Jack said as he caught his suitcase, "What are you planning for us to do? Just run into Rose's house and grab her and then fly back here with her? That is so illogical!"

"Maybe," admitted Fabrizio, "but _amore_ is not logical, no?"

"No," Jack said slowly as he was beginning to understand what Fabrizio was getting at.

"And you do love _la bella Rosa_, no?' Fabrizio asked further.

"Yes, I do," Jack replied.

"More than _la vita_?" Fabrizio asked further.

"Yes, I suppose I do," said Jack.

"Then you must follow your heart and go after her!" Fabrizio exclaimed waving his arms in the air. "And the sooner we leave the better the chance we have of rescuing her before it's too late. Now come on. _Andiamo_!"

Jack needed no further prompting as he hurriedly packed his own suitcase. Then as he was doing so another thought occurred to him.

"You know, two heads are better than one for something like this. But in this case three would be even better," he said.

Fabrizio at once took Jack's hint. "_Si,_ I agree. We should get Tommy to join us on our rescue mission."

So then once they had both packed their suitcases full and had gotten properly dressed also they left their house and they went straight for Tommy's.

They knocked on Tommy's door and then he answered it wearing his bathrobe as he asked. "Huh? Jack? Fabrizio? What do you guys want at this hour?"

"Tommy, we want your help," Jack said with great urgency.

"Okay. With what? Just name it and I'll do it," Tommy said loyally.

"We need your help in rescuing Rose," said Jack.

"What?" asked Tommy in confusion.

"She went back to Philadelphia just this morning," Jack explained quickly. "She's going to marry this bastard named Cal even though she doesn't want to. She wants to be free, I know it. So we're going to follow her to Philadelphia and save her future. And we want you to come with us because we may need your additional strength."

Tommy stared at Jack like he had suddenly turned into a madman on him. "What! Jack Dawson, I swear you've gone bazookas! You can't just go off and try to snatch a girl away from her place, especially is she happens to be a rich one who is also engaged to a bastard. There's no sense in that."

"I know it doesn't make any sense," Jack said assertively. "That's why I trust it. I'm just following my heart and going after the girl I love because I don't want her to wither and die before she''s even had a chance at living. Come on, Tommy. Come with us!"

Tommy shook his head firmly. "No, Jack. I'm sorry. I will do anything for you but that."

Jack now looked a bit angry at Tommy's lack of understanding. "And to think I used to consider you as my friend!" he said almost yelling.

"I'm just being a realistic friend is all," Tommy said defensively.

Fabrizio then spoke up for Jack. "Well, if you want to think realistically, how is this. If it were Brandy who was in this position that _la bella Rosa_ is now in, would you not want to go and do the same thing me and Jack are planning to do now?"

Tommy looked much surprised that Fabrizio would ask him such a question. Then he thought hard for a while and then finally he said with a sigh of resignation, "Yes, I guess I would. You're both right. There are times when you have just got to follow your heart no matter how crazy it may seem to. Alright, fellas, I'll go with you and together we'll bring Rose back!"

Jack and Fabrizio smiled at him gratefully. "That's the spirit, Tommy," said Fabrizio as he slapped him on the back.

"I knew we could count on you," added Jack.

Then, as soon as Tommy had dressed and packed his own suitcase, the three of them got into the car and drove quickly to the airport.

Once they were at the airport they went straight to the front desk and Jack asked urgently, "Please, when is the next flight headed for Philadelphia?"

"In five minutes," replied the woman who was behind the counter. "The next one after that leaves in..."

"We'll take this one!" they all told her in unison.

So then she gave them each a ticket for the plane that was due to head for Philadelphia in five minutes.

Jack, Fabrizio, and Tommy were then off and running hurriedly outside to the plane that was sitting on its wheels on the airfield. They raced across the field and handed their tickets to the flight attendant and then bounded up the steps onto the plane.

They could feel the plane's engines beginning to start up as they made their way to their seats. Jack sat in a seat beside a window and Fabrizio sat down beside him while Tommy took the seat across form them.

"Well," said Jack with a deep breath of relief, "we've made it this far. And now comes the harder part."

"_Si_," said Fabrizio. "But we'll see it through together, no?"

"I just hope you guys have at least a plan that is sensible," said Tommy.

Jack just looked at Fabrizio who said, "Of course I do. I'll tell you when we get there."

Just then the plane took off and soared into the sky, taking them to Philadelphia.


	6. Chapter 6

After their plane landed in Philadelphia, Jack, Fabrizio, and Tommy found and checked into the cheapest motel they could. They then found out where Rose lived and then they took a taxi cab to the Dewitt-Bukater mansion. When they arrived at it they found it to be the biggest and grandest house any of them had ever seen and there was a huge yard in front of it decorated with maple trees and rose bushes and a large fountain in the center that was spraying clear water up and down.

"Wow!" Tommy said in awe of the landscape before them. "Rose is really loaded."

"Well, not exactly anymore," Jack said. "She told me how after her father died she and her mother were left deep in debt and now her marrying this Hockley guy is their only way out of it."

"I see," said Tommy. Then he looked at Jack and asked, "Are you really sure then that this is a good idea?"

"Of course I am," said Jack insistently.

Fabrizio nodded agreement and said, "My friend always knows what he is doing."

So then they waked up the long path in the yard that led up to the front door of the mansion. Then Jack pressed a doorbell and in a few moments the door was opened by a tall and middle-aged man with graying hair dressed in a highly expensive looking suit. They knew at once he must be the butler.

His face was pinched as if he smelled something bad as he looked at them and said in a very dark voice with a British accent, "What can I do for you three?"

Jack spoke with slight hesitation. "Does Rose Dewitt-Bukater live here?"

"Yes," replied the butler.

"Is she home now?" asked Jack further.

"Yes," said the butler again.

"May I come in and speak to her?" Jack asked at last.

"No," said the butler calmly.

"But I have to," said Jack. "Please, it's very important."

The butler narrowed his eyes at him as if he suspected he was up to something. "Do you know miss Dewitt-Bukater?" he asked coldly.

"Yes, I do," Jack assured him.

"How so?" inquired the butler.

"I met her two weeks ago when she was on vacation in California," Jack replied honestly.

"And now you want to see her again?" the butler said stiffly. "I'm afraid I can't let you."

"But it will just take a moment. Please!" Jack said almost begging now.

"No!" the butler said with force. "Miss Dewitt-Bukater is about to have her wedding rehearsal and it is none of your affairs. My orders were to not let in anyone who was not either an invited guest, or a working person of the house's staff. Good day to you."

And with that he closed the door and slammed it in their faces. Jack turned to his friends with a look of despair on his face as he asked, "What do we do now?"

Fabrizio smiled and said cheerfully, "We put plan B into action, of course!"

"Plan B?" asked Jack in confusion. "What plan B?"

"Simple," said Fabrizio. "You hear what he say, no? So all we have to do is go get us some nice disguises and come back here and pretend we are workers for the house's staff, you see?"

Jack understood the plan quite well and he was much impressed by his friend's cleverness. "I see," he said. "Now that's what I call sharp thinking, Fabri."

So then they hurried back to the taxi cab and instructed the driver to take them to the nearest clothing store. There they purchased clothes that were appropriate for their plan of action. They also altered their appearances a little bit just to make sure it would go well.

Then they went back to the Dewitt-Bukater mansion. Jack rang the doorbell and once again it was answered by the butler. When he looked at them he saw Jack wearing a neatly pressed black suit and a pair of glasses over his eyes and his hair had been slicked back behind his ears. Fabrizio was wearing a fake mustache and had on a thick white chef's hat and uniform. Tommy had on a fake beard and was wearing a pair of old and dusty overalls and carrying a plunger.

"Yes?" said the butler, not seeming to see through their disguises. "What is your business for being here?"

"I am a plumber, and I was hired by Mrs. Dewitt-Bukater to fix the upstairs toilet," Tommy said with his thick Irish brogue.

"I am Italiano chef De Rossi, and I was hired by Mrs. Dewitt-Bukater to prepare the wedding feast," Fabrizio said in his heavy Italian accent.

"I am a tailor, and I was hired by Mrs. Dewitt-Bukater to fashion and sew a wedding dress for her daughter," Jack said in a very fake French accent.

The butler looked at them as if considering them for a moment. Then finally he shrugged and stepped aside for them to enter saying, "Very well then. Mrs. Dewitt-Bukater is in the lounge having tea with guests, you'll find her there."

"Thank you," the trio said in unison as they entered into the mansion which was equally as big on the inside as it was on the outside, if not more so.

Then while Fabrizio went to find the kitchen, and Tommy went upstairs to the bathroom, Jack went into the lounge which was near the parlor and there they found a woman who they knew at once had to be Rose's mother who was sitting with several other fine looking women surrounded by tea things.

Jack thought Rose's mother looked like an older version of Rose, except her face and eyes held a cold and distant look in them, and as she talked to the other women she spoke with in very high-class and pretentious voice and sounded like she wasn't giving much thought to what she was saying. Jack then decided that Rose's mother was exactly who Rose would become herself if she remained trapped by her and Cal, and how she would look as a withered flower that had died prematurely. He could feel his determination to get through to Rose increase.

"But the purpose of University is to find a suitable husband, Rose has already done that," Rose's mother was saying as they walked in. She then sipped her tea and then turned to look at them with a questioning look in her icy green eyes.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Dewitt-Bukater," Jack said still trying to pull of his fake French accent as well as mask his uneasiness. "I am a tailor and I was hired by Mr. Hockley to furnish a wedding dress for his fiance, your daughter. Where is she?"

Mrs. Dewitt-Bukater looked confused for a moment, and then she replied stiffly, "She is in her bedroom at the moment. It is located up the main stairs, and down the hall across to the left. And please do not mind her if she is rather... uncivil toward you."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you," Jack said quickly and then hurried out of the room.

He went quickly up the main stairs, down the hall and across to the left and knocked on the closed door of Rose's bedroom.

"Who is it?" called Rose's voice from behind the door. She sounded very distraught.

"It is your tailor, Miss," said Jack still using his fake French accent as he didn't want to blow his cover in case anyone was listening.

He then waited a few moments before the door slowly opened and Rose appeared with her hair hanging in loose curls down her shoulders, and her eyes also drooping dismally. Then her whole expression changed to one of great shock as Jack took off his glasses and she recognized him at once.

"Jack!" she gasped in hoarse whisper as she put a hand up to her mouth.

"Shh!" Jack quieted her quickly as he went inside of her room and closed the door behind them.

"I need to talk to you," Jack said with urgency.

"Jack, this is impossible. I can't see you!" Rose said still quite taken aback at seeing him here like this.

"Rose, Jack began, "You don't have to go through with this, really you don't."

"Jack, I have to marry Cal," Rose said. "Because..."

"I know, I remember what you told me about your father's debts and your mother being about to lose everything," Jack interrupted her. "But those are her problems, not yours. They don't have to be put on your shoulders if you don't want them to be," he continued.

"But Mother would never understand," Rose said helplessly. "She would just say I'm being selfish, and she did and maybe she was right. Look, Jack, I'm very sorry I ever got mixed up with you. It was a mistake. I wasn't being responsible for myself. Now will you please leave me alone?"

"Rose," Jack said with his eyes pleading for her to understand him. "Don't you remember all of the fun you had with me, and Fabrizio and Helga? At the party where we danced and surfed, and at the pier and the carnival, and at the movies? And don't you remember all of the dreams you told me you had for yourself? Well, you could choose to have as much fun as you had in those three days and much more, you really could if you only chose to. And you can make your dreams come true, really you can. But first you have to make yourself free to be able to. You have to take responsibility for your own life."

Jack could tell then that he had touched on something in the core of Rose as her face fell and she looked confused and sad all at once. Then he said in the same kind of voice that Jack had just used,

"Look, Jack, I do need to take responsibility for my life, Mother said that to me yesterday. She also said that she understands how our choices as women aren't easy. She also promised me Cal will give me everything I want and everything I need, I just have to open my heart to him. It may be hard for me to do. But I feel I should for everyone's sakes."

"Rose, no!" Jack said anxiously. "You know you don't mean that. That isn't you that's talking. That is your mother, not you. You know you don't love Cal so a marriage between the two of you would never work well. And why do you need someone to give you what you want? Why don't you just provide everything for yourself? You know want to, you know it!"

Rose looked more sad and confused and upset than ever now. She was silent for a long time. And then she said desperately, "Please, Jack. Just leave now. Mother or Cal might come in at any moment and they mustn't find you here or the consequences for both of us could be serious. Go now!"

"Rose, just listen to me, you know I'm right," Jack said trying again.

"Go!" Rose said with force in her voice as she pointed at her bedroom door.

"Rose," Jack said quietly, "don't you love me?"

Rose sighed and for a moment she looked like she was just about to burst into tears. Then she said evenly, "It's not that I don't want to, I just can't. Now, please Jack, leave for both our sakes?"

Jack now felt like he had never known the true meaning of the word defeat up until this moment as he made his way quietly and slowly to the door and opened it and then left the room.

Jack stood at the door for a moment and then he started to go down the hall toward the stairs. Then suddenly he heard the sound of a cart being pushed along the floor. He looked up and he saw Fabrizio in his chef's uniform pushing a cart along with a big silver container on top of it.

"What are you doing, Fabri?" he asked curiously.

"I take meal to Rose," Fabrizio replied. "Well, it really is my way of getting up here," he added in a whisper. "What are you doing out here?" he asked then. "Shouldn't you be with her?"

Jack sighed miserably as he said, "I tried, Fabri. I really tried. But it's no use. She's tied too tightly to the ties made by her mother and Cal I guess."

Fabrizio looked crestfallen for a moment and then the light in his eyes reappeared as he said, "Well, then we'll just have to put plan C into action, no?"

"What plan C?" asked Jack in confusion.

"The plan in which I talk to Rose for you, of course," Fabrizio said cheerily.

"I don't know, Fabri," Jack said dubiously. "I mean, if I couldn't get through to her what makes you think you can?"

"Because I will," Fabrizio replied easily. "Just trust me."

So then Jack shrugged as he thought he had nothing to lose by giving Fabrizio a chance at it and then he moved aside so that he could push the cart towards Rose's room. He then knocked on the door and said, "Meal for bella Rosa.'

Rose opened the door and gave Fabrizio the same shocked look she had given Jack earlier. But Fabrizio was already pushing the cart into her room and then closing the door behind him.

Jack stood and waited outside in the hall, wondering, hoping, Fabrizio knew what he was doing.

"Oh no! Not you too, Fabri!" Rose said in despair.

"Please, listen to me, bella Rosa," he said gently. "I just want to tell something. A little story."

"Then please make it quick," Rose said in exasperation.

Fabrizio smiled and then he began. "You remember my girl, Helga, and how we've been dating for six months? Well, we've actually known each other longer than that. I met her a year and a half ago after she moved to California from New York. At the time she didn't know much English, but that didn't bother me or prevent us from falling in love because we did. Then one day she told me she was going to move to Maine because her father had found a better job there and that she was sorry to be leaving and would never forget me. I told her she didn't have to leave, that she could stay here and live on her own or move in with me. But she said she didn't know how to live on her own and that her father wouldn't approve of her living with me and so she left. I was sad for a long time, and then I met Jack and he told me that if Helga really did love me she would come back to me, and I believed she did love me and so I held out hope of seeing her again. And then you know what happened? She came back! She came back on her own and said she had changed her mind and after she had run away from her parents and had come back to live on her own because she decided she was old enough to learn how. Then we've been going steady with each other ever since."

"Well..." said Rose slowly. "I'm very happy for you. You and Helga do deserve each other."

Fabrizio smiled and replied, "And so do you and Jack. Please, bella Rosa, listen to your heart and it will tell you the truth about everything."

And with that Fabrizio turned around and left the room. He then met up with Jack again in the hall.

"Well, what happened?" asked Jack not sounding too hopeful.

"I told her the story of me and Helga," replied Fabrizio. "If that doesn't convince her I know not what will."

"Neither do I," agreed Jack.

Then a few moments later they heard the door of Rose's bedroom open and watched as Rose came out and hurried down the hall toward them.

She stopped in front of Jack. "Jack," she said. "I've been thinking about everything and... I changed my mind. I'm sorry if I've hurt you, and I want you to know I really do love you. Will you forgive me?"

Jack smiled very tenderly as he put his hand onto her cheek and replied, "Of course, Rose. I love you, too."

Fabrizio looked on smiling. Then Jack said, "We'll go back tomorrow morning on the first plane."

"I'll leave a note to Mother and Cal," said Rose.


	7. Chapter 7

It was very early the next day, at the crack of dawn when the sun wasn't quite all the way up yet, when Jack came up quietly to the the Dewitt-Bukater mansion. Jack had decided he would come here alone and walk because he wanted to take no chances of waking up anyone who wasn't asleep in the mansion, and he knew Rose would be awake as she knew all about the plan. He went over to the left side where the window to Rose's bedroom was located. He looked up and saw Rose's face in the window and she smiled when she saw him.

"Hi, Rose. Are you ready?" he asked.

"In a moment, Jack," Rose replied. She then turned around from the window and disappeared for a moment. She came back shortly and opened the window and then she threw down her bed sheets which she had tied together at the ends. She then tied one end to the bedpost tightly, and then she climbed out of the window and gripped onto the tied sheets and made her way down to the ground beside Jack.

Jack assisted her down the last few feet and set her down gently. Then he looked at her and smiled with love and pride at her courage.

"I left a note for mother and Cal explaining everything, and I do mean everything," Rose said as she showed him her left hand which was now barren of the engagement ring that was on it before.

Jack grinned happily. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here."

They then began to walk hand in hand down the path leading from the Dewitt-Bukater mansion. Then they walked along down the sidewalk, heading toward the airport where Tommy and Fabrizio would be meeting them. Their plane back to California would be leaving as soon as they would board it.

They had walked down the street for a half a mile of the three miles to the airport when suddenly they heard the sound of a car coming up behind them in the distance. They wondered who could possibly be out driving anywhere at this hour. Then they looked over their shoulders and they saw the front of a very black and expensive Sedan driving right up beside them along the street.

Rose gasped in horror and realization. "Oh no! That's Cal's car!" she whispered to Jack. "Mother must have read the note by now an d then showed it to Cal when he came to the house!"

"Well, come on! Let's run!" Jack exclaimed frantically.

And with that they took off in a fast run down the sidewalk. They heard the sound of the car behind them accelerating its speed with them. They ran as fast as they could to the end of the street and then crossed to the next one.

"Let's take a short cut!" Jack exclaimed.

They then turned into an alleyway and sprinted down the street. Then they came to another street where there was no sidewalk, and unfortunately for them their was a green light on at the traffic light so they would have to wait by the curb before they could cross. Jack cursed under his breath at their luck.

Just then they spotted a man on a large black motorcycle coming up the street, and it was just big enough to hold two people on it. Jack then had an idea and acted fast on it.

"Hey! You! Over here!" Jack called out to the motorcyclist.

The man on the motorcycle turned toward them and was at their side in seconds. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, you can," said Jack quickly. "Please, we have to borrow your motorcycle to take us to the airport. Please! We'll leave it there for you to pick up."

"Well, okay," said the man. "Just try not to wreck it as it's my pride and joy."

"We promise we we'll be careful," Jack said.

Jack then got onto the front of the motorcycle and Rose then climbed on behind him and held fast to his shoulders. Then Jack turned the key, kicked the engine to life, and shifted into gear and the motorcycle zoomed forward at almost lightning speed down the street.

"I didn't know you knew how to drive one of these!" Rose exclaimed over the noise of the motorcycle as the wind blew her long curls behind her.

"Well, I don't exactly know how," Jack admitted. "But this is as good a time as any to learn!"

They zoomed down the street, and every now and then Rose would glance behind them to see if Cal was catching up to them. Once she thought she saw his car coming around the corner, but then they zoomed away from him and so she didn't mention about it. Then finally they reached the airport safely and without incident.

Jack parked the motorcycle in the airport's parking lot and then he and Rose got off of it and hurried inside where they met with Tommy and Fabrizio.

"You took long enough," Tommy said when he saw them. "We were beginning to get worried about you two."

"You had reason to worry," said Rose. "Cal was on our tail."

"Well, then come one, we've got to get going!" exclaimed Tommy.

They then hurried outside, handed their tickets to the flight attendant, and boarded the plane and its door were closed just after they boarded. They all breathed a deep sigh of relief as they walked calmly to their seats and sat down, fastening their seat belts and waited as they plane took off.

"There," Jack said softly to Rose who sat beside him. "It will be alright now. Trust me."

"I trust you," she assured him.

They flew back to California in three hours and after they had landed at the airport Rose went with Jack and Fabrizio back to their house while Tommy went his separate way saying he felt he had to go see Brandy right away.

When they had gone back to their house, Jack opened the door and let Rose and Fabrizio go in before him. Then he said to Rose, "Well, Rose, I guess our home is your home from now on, at least until we can afford a better one. I hope you don't mind it."

"Not at all," Rose assured him.

"And Fabri," Jack added to him, "I hope you won't mind when Rose and I move out."

"No, I won't," Fabrizio assured them understanding. "Besides I might move out of here myself after I propose to Helga."

"And will that be any time soon?" asked Jack with a teasing smile.

"Maybe," said Fabrizio. "And speaking of Helga, I see I have a message from her on our answering machine. I better call her right away."

And so he did. "Hello, sunshine," he said. "Sorry I wasn't home yesterday. I had some very important business to attend to with Jack and Rose. And what an adventure it was, too. I'll tell you all about it." Then he told her everything from the time he found out Rose had left Jack up to the moment when they had brought her back. "You see," he said, "I told Rose about the story of us. I figured it would encourage her to do what she wanted but was so afraid to. I mean, if you could do it, why couldn't she or anybody else?"

Then after a moment he went to Rose and said, "Helga says she would like to speak with you, bella Rosa. She says she thinks she can help you."

So then Rose Rose picked up the phone and spoke to Helga who promised her she would help her to live independently and would teach her how to clean and wash and sew and cook. She also promised to go grocery shopping and clothes shopping with her in the afternoon to start with.

"Really? Thank you so much Helga," Rose said very gratefully. She felt like for the first time in her life she really had a true best friend.

Then shortly afterward they got another call from Tommy who had some big news to tell them.

"I just proposed to Brandy!" he said excitedly. "And she said yes, just like you always told me she would! We're gonna be married next week on the beach and I'd like you to be my best man, Jack. You see, this whole escapade we had in rescuing Rose really opened my eyes to my love for Brandy and I decided not to waste any more time and to start my life with her as soon as possible."

"Well, good for you, Tommy," said Jack. "And of course I'd be honored to be your best man, as long as Rose can be the maid of honor."

"Of course," said Tommy.

So then the very next week, Tommy and Brandy got married on the beach in front of all of their friends. Afterward there was a big party with dancing and swimming and surfing.

As Jack and Rose laid together on a couple of fold out chairs warming up in the sun after having just gone swimming in the ocean, they watched as Fabrizio and Helga were building a sandcastle nearby. Then Jack decided that this was the right moment. He leaned in close to Rose and whispered, "Rose, will you marry me? I know this is on rather short notice and I don't have a ring yet, but I can get one. I just want us to always be together so you can be safe and happy. Will you do me this honor."

Rose responded by leaning next to him and kissing his lips and then whispering, "Of course I will, Jack."

They then got up and went over to Fabrizio and Helga and announced their plans to them. They both were very happy for them.

"Congratulations to both of you," said Helga while Fabrizio simply nodded as if he had known about it all along.

"We'd also like you to be our best man and maid of honor," added Rose.

"We'd love to," said Helga.

Then Fabrizio nodded his agreement and then stepped to the side and revealed a grand and majestic sandcastle inlaid with seashells and starfishes around it and on top of its turrets. "Behold!" he said. "The castle of King Jack and Queen Rosa! We made it just for you!"

Jack laughed and said, "Why don't we take a picture of it. It will last longer after all."

"Good idea," agreed Fabrizio. "And tonight why don't we all celebrate your engagement at my diner. It will be free of all expenses."

So that evening Jack and Rose sat at a table across from Fabrizio and Helga as they ate their dinner of fettuccine pasta and cream sauce and listened to an Italian love song that was playing on the jukebox just for them.

_I have but one heart, this heart I bring you,  
I have but one heart to share with you,  
I have but one dream that I can cling to,  
You are the one dream I pray comes true.  
My darling, until I saw you, I never felt this way,  
And nobody else before you, ever has heard me say,  
You are my one love, my life I live for you,  
I have but one heart to give to you._

Dicimo o mari, facimu l'amore,  
A curi a curi che ci passa,  
Ca u mare parla e na' carezza,  
Ma a tia la brezza, fina murir.

_You are my one love, my love I live for you,  
I have but one heart to give to you.  
Let us tell the sea that we are making love,  
Heart to heart till the end of time,  
Because the sea whispers and caresses us,  
So does the breeze till the time we die. _


End file.
